The Buzz | Iran to partially allow BBC to report for a week

An Iranian government official says the Islamic Republic will allow some BBC journalists to report there for a week’s time. The BBC had no immediate comment in London. Culture Ministry spokesman

Organized crime | Police decipher messages for No. 1 Mafioso hidden in Sicilian soil

The No. 1 Cosa Nostra fugitive communicates with henchmen using written messages buried in dirt or hidden under boulders on sheep ranches and comes and goes from Sicily, possibly thanks

World Briefs

PAKISTAN-INDIA Pakistani and Indian border guards trade gunfire and mortar shells along their disputed border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, killing two Pakistanis and an Indian. At least 14

Locally based writer turns to thriller stories

Thriller novels can be more than just scary tales intended to give readers goose bumps, especially when they carry underlying educational messages. A local writer, whose latest horror story is

Wynn makes donation to UM

Wynn Macau has donated MOP80 million to the University of Macau Development Foundation (UMDF) in support of education and young people’s determination to succeed, the casino operator said in a

Five men arrested for St Lazarus illegal graffiti

Five Filipino men were arrested on Monday for spraying black graffiti on the heritage architecture in St. Lazarus district. The Judiciary Police (PJ) believes that the “playful act” constitutes a

Airport traffic up in July, new Vietnam routes to be launched

A Jetstar Pacific Airlines daily flight between Macau and Hanoi was launched in March 2014; however, it was suspended shortly after, when violence escalated in Vietnam over a disputed oil

Two locals fall ill after eating Horng Ryen Jen sandwiches

The Health Bureau (SSM) has confirmed that two Macau citizens sought treatment at Kiang Wu Hospital after eating sandwiches from popular Taiwanese brand Horng Ryen Jen. The Hong Kong food watchdog

BRIEFS | Special Olympics delegation brings home 87 medals

The local delegation participating in this year’s Special Olympics in Los Angeles has claimed a total of 87 medals, including 35 gold, 24 silver and 28 bronze medals. Macau’s athletes

Good Shepherd Center takes in two underage sex trafficking victims

The Good Shepherd Center has provided shelter to two underage girls who have been lured into practicing prostitution here since January, Sister Juliana Devoy told newspaper Tribuna de Macau. Authorities have

Talents committee promotes ‘elite nurturing’

The Talents Development Committee’s task force subgroup promoting its “Elites Nurturing Plan” held a meeting last Friday. There it listened to Melco Crown Entertainment’s chief human resources officer introduce the

MGM China 1st half revenue down 33 percent

According to a statement issued by MGM, main floor table game wins dropped 19 percent and slot wins dropped 26 percent. VIP table game wins were down 46 percent. The

Transport | New Era tops citizens’ complaints

Public bus operator New Era is at the top of the list of citizens’ complaints over Macau’s public bus system, according to data provided by the Transport Bureau (DSAT) to

Studio City opening date to be announced today

Vietnam officials sent to Macau to study special economic zones, casinos

  The Vietnamese government has reviewed a major plan to establish a special economic zone on Phu Quoc Island off mainland Kien Giang Province and has assigned the Ministry of Planning

Golden Triangle casino sets clocks to Beijing time

The Laotian section of the Golden Triangle, which intersects with Thailand and Myanmar and has long been known for producing drugs, has become a gambling destination for Chinese gamblers. According to

Corporate Bits | MGM organizes “care campaign” for third consecutive year

The third “Community Care Campaign” this year, which ran from July 20 to 31, launched a host of activities that served various underprivileged groups including the elderly, the mentally challenged,

Auto industry | BMW earnings slip on China, costs for new models

German luxury automaker BMW saw net profit slip 1 percent in the second quarter amid higher costs to bring out new vehicles and a tougher market in China, a major

Toyota’s quarterly profit up 10 pct on cheap yen, cost cuts

Toyota’s profit for April-June rose 10 percent on perks from a cheap yen and cost reduction efforts that offset lower vehicle sales. Toyota Motor Corp. had a fiscal first quarter profit

Banking | UK state raises USD3.3b from first sale of Bank of Scotland stake

The U.K. government said yesterday it sold 5.4 percent of taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland for 2.1 billion pounds (USD3.3 billion) as it begins to shed a majority stake acquired

Chinese group with highest proposal to buy Novo Banco

The most interesting financial proposal for the purchase of Portugal’s Novo Banco is the one from the Chinese insurance group Anbang, offering 3.2 billion euros in currency and a further

East Timor gains support to join ASEAN

Indonesia will renew its defense of East Timor’s admission to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the 48th meeting of foreign ministers from that organization’s member countries,

Volleyball chief in corruption probe

China’s sweeping drive against corruption has again turned to the country’s sports programs, with the head of the national volleyball program the latest to be targeted. The ruling party’s corruption

Police rescue infant girl from pipe in public toilet 

A Beijing policeman rescued a newborn baby who was stuck face-down in a public toilet, reaching his arm down into the pipe to gently pull out the infant, police and

Shanghai group to salvage South Korea’s sunken ferry

South Korea said yesterday that it had agreed to a 85.1 billion won (USD73 million) deal with a Chinese-led consortium to salvage a ferry that sunk in an accident that

ASEAN | Malaysia seeks amicable solution to China sea dispute 

Malaysia yesterday called for more efforts to find a peaceful solution to rising tensions in the disputed South China Sea, as the U.S. and the Philippines said they would demand that China stop land

South Korea | President to replace health minister after MERS outbreak

South Korea’s president has decided to replace her health minister, officials said yesterday, in the wake of criticism over the government’s handling of the MERS virus outbreak that killed 36

India | Building collapses outside Mumbai after heavy rain; 12 dead

New devastation is feared in Myanmar as water from the badly flooded central and northern regions flows down rivers to the country’s more populous areas. The U.N. Office for the

New Zealand | Last WWII ‘Dambuster’ pilot dies at 96 

A New Zealander who was the last surviving pilot from the specialized World War II “Dambuster” mission targeting German infrastructure died yesterday. Les Munro was 96. The team of top pilots secretly trained

Pakistan | Gov’t hangs man that family says was convicted as a minor 

Pakistan executed a man yesterday convicted of killing a 7-year-old boy in 2004 when his family and lawyers say he was just 14 years old, despite international outcry over his sentence,

USA | Obama heralds impact of power plant greenhouse gas limits 

President Barack Obama unveiled the final version of his plan to dramatically cut emissions from U.S. power plants, as he warned anew that climate change will threaten future generations if left unchecked. Touting

Switzerland | Customs seize 262 kilograms of ivory en route to China

Customs officials at Zurich airport have seized 262 kilograms of ivory that three Chinese men had dispatched from Tanzania, contraband that may have come from up to 50 elephants, Swiss

Yemen | Pro-government troops retake rebel-held base in south

Yemen’s pro-government troops were fighting pockets of resistance outside a key military base in the country’s south yesterday, a day after they seized it from Shiite rebels, military officials said. The

This Day in History | 1962 Marilyn Monroe found dead

The 36-year-old actress’ body was discovered in the early hours of this morning by two doctors who were called to her Brentwood home by a concerned housekeeper. The doctors were forced

Offbeat | German mechanic wins pay for changing, but not for showers

A German court says a municipal bus mechanic can have hundreds of euros (dollars) in back pay for time spent changing into his work clothes — but not for time

MACAU DAILY TIMES